1984 FXRT. I bought it new in December, 1985 as a leftover model, at Owen's HD in Yakima, WA. It originally came with 80" Evo engine. Back then, it looked like this:   The photo gallery shows you what it looks like now. Now opinions vary, but it's not hard to justify saying the FXRT was the best touring bike Harley ever made. It's demonstrably better than any of the FL models that seem to get all the attention. It was faster, far, far more stable, handled way better, the fairing and lowers were superior in every way, and had a carrying capacity that was 40 lbs more than the FLH. But it didn't "look like" a Harley to some people for whom image is more important than performance so it never sold real well. They are rare on the road today - even at Sturgis you'd see fewer than a dozen of them in a week, and I don't see half a dozen of them a year out in the wind. But that's not the case with me - function comes first. Nearly everything I've done to this bike was done with one main objective: make it a better long-riding touring mount. And it sure as hell is. Power? It'll pull me, the OL, and all our gear up any pass I ever found at 80+. Top speed, if that's your bag, is limited by the gearing to about 125mph - the tranny delivers 21mph per thousand RPMs in fifth gear (I installed a larger front sprocket with the new engine), and with a 6,000 RPM redline, there you are. I've actually seen it, 125 indicated on a GPS I use. It'll drag those high floorboards in tight curves just about the time you start talking to Jesus. And it'll cruise hands-off at 85 to 100 on the Interstate all day long. Here's what it's got. S&S 107" Super Sidewinder engine (Summer, 2003) Click here for S&S site Engine is bone stock except that it has a Screaming Eagle 44mm CV carburetor. The S&S carb that came on the engine is a fine power unit but its fixed venturi does not adjust for altitude - you have to rejet. If I never left the county it would do just fine, but since I ride from sea level to 10,000 feet sometimes on trips to Wyoming and Colorado I wanted a carb that would compensate. All the CV carbs do, and the Screaming Eagle (actually made by Keihin) does that very well. The engine has never been on a dyno, but I suspect it makes around 100HP. Crane HI4 ignition and coils Click here for Crane site. Set up for single fire ignition. The timing plate has been modified to allow a neat trick to simplify timing. See it here. Pingel Power-flo petcock. Click here for the Pingel site. You don't want to starve a big engine for fuel. When the petcock won't pass enough gas it's called "jetting with the petcock." You wind up with a lean mixture first, then coughing and spitting when the engine, running at high speed, is finally demanding more gas than the petcock can deliver. Cycle Shack exhaust . Click here for Cycle Shack site. 2" headpipes; that's what an engine this size calls for. They were put on in July, 2007, replacing the black ones in the photo. Cycle shack is one of the two or three best performance pipes in the industry. Others cost more, but almost none deliver more power under the curve than these. They are loud, but not for no good reason; it's power you're hearing. Rivera Pro Clutch Click here for the Rivera/Primo site. Big engines need good clutches. This one replaced the old-style shovelhead clutch that came in the bike. Installed June, 2007. Spyke starter The juice is fed through heavy-duty Fisher-Terry cables w/dual grounds. Click here for Spyke site. Big engines need big starters, too. Six-gallon custom gas tank. Click here for information about tank. Big engines need big tanks because they get 38mpg, and it's a long way between gas stations in Nevada. Custom seat from Rich's of Seattle Click here for Rich's Custom Seats. A 200-mile range calls for a comfortable seat. This one has a gel pad where the tailbone sits. Floorboards from the copsickle version of this bike. Click here to see them in a picture of the bike. These boards are great! They mount higher than the Harley accessory floorboards, the brackets are above the pipes, so they don't interfere with ground clearance. You'll note in one of the pictures that there is a heel and toe shifter. The heel portion of it does not get in the way since it is low, and off the back end of the floorboard. If you wear expensive dress boots sometimes when you ride, you'll appreciate the heel shifter; it doesn't scuff up the toe of your boot. Screaming Eagle fork brace. The fork brace stabilizes the fork tremendously, which lets it track straight and true around curves when the bike is pushed hard. Those are just the major items. Here's a list of a few more things . . . Fairing lowers. This fairing and the lowers were actually designed in a wind tunnel, and they show it. These lowers act as air ducts, forcing air over the heads. I used to run a cylinder head temperature gauge and could see that they actually knock fifteen degrees off the cylinder head temperatures at cruise speed. That makes things nice for the oil that flows through them. Because of the extra air they flow over the engine they do not make the rider's legs too hot - the air seems to come back at the front of the saddlebags, behind the rider. Gauge kit. Fuel gauge is on the left side of the tank in what looks like a gas cap. Up on the fairing is oil pressure, oil temp, voltmeter, and clock. VOES telltale light. The VOES is a stock item, but this light is a custom, home-built device I put on; you won't see them very often. The VOES advances the timing under light load to improve driveability and fuel economy, then retards it when load increases. VOES's are a failure item and on big-inch motors it's good to know when it quits working. This little orange light on the dash tells you what it's doing. A failure is not critical, all the igition does is drop into the "normal", curve, but at least you know why it's not acting like you're used to. See this article for an explanation. Leather saddlebags by Longrider Leather (and a leather trunk from Leatherworks, too, not shown). I put these on to replace the original clamshell-style tupperware bags for a couple reasons. First, I can tie stuff on top of them. Also, if you're on a trip and fall down and tear the bodywork up you can take off the fairing and toss it, but what do you do with the stuff in the plastic bags that are now in pieces? Leather bags, that's not a problem. I still have the originals, though, and the original trunk, too, that are included in the sale. Works shock absorbers. I took off the original air shocks ( I still have 'em) and put on a new set of Works shocks in the summer of '06. I seldom travel with that much of a load back there any more, so I don't really need the air suspension. The shocks do a better job of controlling the back end than the air shocks did. If I'm going to load up with the OL and a bunch of gear I put the air shocks back on to keep things on the level. I converted the wet primary drive to a dry system. Now the primary oil does not circulate through the engine and tank as the original system did. Like everything from 1985 and up, the primary drive has its own oil supply. Fisher-Terry electrical cables with dual electrical ground straps. One runs directly from the starter to the battery negative so that the starter gets a full shot of juice. The other one grounds the frame to the battery negative so all the accessories have a good circuit. Sort of a suspenders and belt situation. Electrical fuse/accessory block behind right side panel. Establishes separate, fused circuits for the driving lights, alarm, and two accessory power outlets. Alarm system with pager. Note that the license plate bracket has been moved below the taillight and the holes in the fender filled it. There's no practical reason; I just like the look better. Again, no practical reason, but I had that huge spot-welded flange ground off the oil tank and a nice, neat seam welded in to replace it. Custom paint. Yeah, it looks like the original color, but it's not, quite. It's a little more ruby red. And pinstripe pattern is subtly different and the Harley logo is, too. Engine cases and fork sliders are polished.

In addition, there are the following items: year-old wheel bearings a damn near brand-new back tire a front tire that's only about a quarter used up New front brake pads and disk GMA rear caliper w/pads half gone I intended to do a dual-disk conversion for the front end, using late-model Harley disks and calipers on each side but the new bike brought that to a halt. I have the parts (including custom-made adapter brackets so that the new calipers will mount to the old front end and the proper master cylinder) to finish the job. If a buyer wants me to finish it we can dicker over what that'll cost - it won't be a lot, or the buyer can finish the job. NOTE 12/12/08 - This job is done, but no pics online yet. If you want to see what it looks like, email me and I'll send some to you. Original saddlebags, luggage rack, and Tour Pak. The bags are intact w/brackets. The Tour Pak has some stress cracks in the bottom but they can be ABS-welded with no problem. As is, the box is still usable. These will not be sold separately. Original tank (color matched).

Click here to go to the Wild West Cycle home. Click here to see the photo gallery.